From Our CEO: The Current State of AI and Where It’s Headed

Recently, I’ve had the chance to speak at different tech events around SF. In this article, I made a list of my favorite topics that have come up, and why they matter to those of us in accounting and finance.

It’s been a few months since I last spoke at a tech event; we’ve been heads down and meeting with accountants at conferences, trade shows, and presentations.

These past few weeks, I got back to connecting with the tech community and sharing my thoughts on different topics at:

• Indeed.com's "AI in HR" event

• The "AI Talk Series: AI Agents" discussion

• The GenAI Collective's "Demo Night"

• Columbia Business School's "Experience Panel"

One thing that’s been on my mind during these conversations and what I'd like to cover below: the current state of AI and where it’s headed.

In particular, I've really enjoyed delving into automation within accounting, the long-term impact of AI, when it could make sense to build your own model, and why your customer’s needs—not the latest trend—should always be your top priority. 

The intersection of AI and accounting

A key theme that's come up at different events is the evolving role of AI in accounting.

For context, traditional accounting involves a lot of repetitive tasks—receiving invoices, data entry, processing payments—that can now be automated using AI.

In particular, AI agents are perfectly suited for these tasks, as they can streamline workflows and free up human capital for more strategic decision-making.

Presenting at Indeed's "AI in HR" event

Another important point to mention is how accessible these AI tools have become.

Even as interest rates have risen, making it more challenging for frontier tech to get funded, the cost and complexity of building AI-powered solutions have dropped significantly.

It’s this combination of affordability and speed of development that opens a ton of doors, especially in sectors like accounting that are traditionally slow to adopt change.

The ROI of AI

In the short term, say 12-18 months, the ROI of AI probably won’t justify the amount of capital that’s being poured into this space.  

However, if we’re talking about how things could unfold over the next decade, then the potential value that AI can unlock is immense.

At the "AI Talk Series: AI Agents" event from Founders Creative and Women Founders Bay

Personally, I think the most important aspect of OpenAI launching ChatGPT was how it democratized access to cutting-edge AI.

That the barrier to entry is so low is one of the fundamental reasons that innovative solutions keep churning out at both a pace and scale that we’ve never seen before.

In other words, the conversation about ROI shouldn’t be focused solely on short-term returns; it’s also crucial to consider how AI will continue to reshape finance as well as every other industry for the foreseeable future.

Focus on value, not just technology

Another point that I've spoken about is that customers ultimately care about the value that AI delivers—not the technology itself.

AI is a fantastic way to capture attention and open doors, but once you’re in, the focus immediately shifts to how your product actually benefits the client.

Does it solve a real problem?

Does it make their life easier?

In the end, does it really make a difference?

Presenting at The GenAI Collective's "Demo Night"

To bring this back to accounting, where precision, efficiency, and reliability are paramount, having excellent answers to those types of questions is a non-negotiable.

If AI doesn’t translate into tangible benefits—whether that’s speeding up month-end closes, reducing errors, or improving decision-making—it’s just noise.

For us at Truewind, we’re not interested in AI for AI’s sake; what we’re actually focused on is delivering real value that impacts the bottom line.

Contrarian take: building custom foundation models

I'd say one of the most interesting topics that's come up is the idea of building specialized foundation models tailored to particular industries.

Conventional wisdom suggests that giants like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google will dominate this space, similar to how AWS, Azure, and GCP do with cloud computing.

At the Columbia Business School's "Experience Panel"

However, there’s a case to be made for developing niche models that cater to the unique needs of industries like finance and accounting.

At Truewind, we have clients ranging from top 100 accounting firms to solo practitioners, as well as over a hundred businesses’ as customers. 

From our vantage point, the depth of data and expertise within this network presents a compelling question: why not leverage that collective knowledge to build models that are finely tuned to the specific challenges and workflows of accounting?

While it might seem counterintuitive given the dominance of larger players, there’s a real possibility that a highly specialized model could offer outsized value in our sector.

Final thoughts

The convergence of accessible AI tools, rising interest in automation, and a growing demand for efficiency in industries like accounting is creating a unique environment for innovation.

Again though, amidst all this excitement, the focus has to remain on delivering substance.

AI’s potential is enormous, but it’s only as impactful as the solutions it powers.

At Truewind, we’re committed to building AI that not only works but makes a difference in the day-to-day operations of our customers.

That’s how we plan to navigate this era—by staying rooted in the value we bring.

Appreciation

To all four of the event organizers as well as our fellow speakers and everyone who attended, thank you so much for making these discussions such a success.  

Your support, insights, engagement and questions were phenomenal, and looking forward to keeping these conversations going as we continue to push the boundaries of what’s possible with AI.

Interested in learning more about the impact of AI-powered accounting? Get in touch with us here.